Eggman Finds a Friend Up North
by Gate Keeper1073
Summary: After a crushing defeat by Sonic and landing in the Bitter Mountains in the Icecap Zone, Eggman is found by the Guardian of the Northern Road, a small passage-way that leads beyond the known Zones controlled by Mobius. Troubled by the last question Sonic asked before they were separated, what will happen to the Doctor? (OC intro story, and my first story to boot!)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:**

**Good Morning! this is my first ever story! I am excited to be able to try out Fanfiction and see how well I do here; but a couple of notes first though, if you **

**don't mind. First; I will probably dabble in many realms, and while I enjoy many shows, I do not consider myself to be an expert on any of them. **

**Second; I ****will ****not do any kind of sexual content, and there will be no slash or same sex pairings from me. Do what you want, I will not judge you for your tastes** **and** **ideas, ****but leave my business to myself.**

**Again I may not support homosexual tendencies or other ideals but I will not judge or condemn anyone for having them, your life is your own.**

**That being said I would really appreciate remarks, comments or reviews to help me become a more well-rounded author.**

**Thanks!**

**Gate Keeper**

_P.S. I also probably won't be apologizing for additions if they take longer than wanted. Life comes first; creativity can wait until I'm not starving._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Eggman's Epic Fail 'n' Fall**

_At the Egg Carrier_

Finally, after all these years, Sonic was out of options. Eggman had him imprisoned in a constrictive cage surrounded in a force field in his Egg Carrier, alongside with Tails,

Knuckles and Amy in similar prisons. The doctor looked down gleefully at the trapped heroes, maniacally cackling as he charged his Eggstounding-Splitter to turn his rivals into a bucket of relish.

Hot.

Steaming.

Mutilated.

Mobian relish...

He was practically shaking from the excitement.

Standing triumphant, Eggman declared "Today the world shall tremble before me, you insolent rodents! When I'm done with you, I can make this world all my own!"

This was met by a variety of insults and banter: "You can't do this!" "You'll never get away with it Doc!" "Don't hurt Sonic!" and other statements of the like.

Eggman wasn't really paying attention.

I mean, when your fiercest rival(s) fall right into your hands with no way of communicating with any of their other pesky friends, it's hard to listen to those buzzing voices in the background at all.

So in the true sense of any villain Dr. Eggman ignored them, using these last moments of his enemies life to make all the final adjustments. Turning dials, looking at charts and putting on Handel's Hallelujah Chorus to start with the shiny red skull-marked button on the Splitter was pressed. (the Eggstounding part was more for record keeping reasons anyway) Deciding to break with tradition Eggman powered up the Splitter and had it rotate towards his targets, being silent the entire walked to his command console (or his Power Tower Table, as he liked to call it), arched his fingers together and sat.

The room was soaked in the tensions and silence that came from both parties, small whimpers coming from Tails and Amy.

Eggman spoke "You will never be remembered. You will die here and now and I will make it so that you were never born. No one will whisper your name. Your parents will have never known you by the time I'm done. Pray now, if you wish, my only regret being that I can't make your deities forget you as well."

"Goodbye."

He then slammed his hands on the red button, looking up to see the last looks on their faces forever as they screamed before he closed his eyes to shield them from the light.

...

...

...

Nothing.

Eggman opened his eyes and saw the only two things that could have ruined it.

His left hand was on the Prisoner Release button. A hiss was heard along with the clanging of steel bars.

and the other...

the other was on the Self-Destruct button. A robotic voice was counting down from 15 and Klaxon alarms was sounding.

Eggman screamed bloody murder until a hand pulled down on his mustache. He was pulled farther and farther down until he was looking at two emerald cut eyes, with blue fur running in between them.

"Doc?" Sonic said.

"Yes, Sonic?" Eggman replied.

The emeralds gazed sadly back into the dark blue glasses, and time slowed down.

"Ten seconds remaining."

Shouting.

Alarms.

"What do you want, Hedgehog?"

Sonic let go and pushed Eggman into his control chair, which immediately started transforming into the Egg-Pod.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!"

"I want to know if you meant it."

The visor closed down on Eggman before he could respond, and he was sent hundreds of feet high into the sky. He was to stunned to speak, and as he was going to, the Egg- Carrier exploded; the shock wave hitting the pod so fiercely it caused Eggman to black out.

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To the north the mountain heights were breathtaking. White snow covered the landscape, creating a sense of barren beauty. A pair of binoculars watched the explosion.

They saw the small pod hurtle first upwards then out from the blast, and quickly noted its trajectory.

They then were rested against a ripped white T-shirt on top of a large brown fur-covered chest.

No sound escaped the long muzzle as it pointed towards the pod.

He was the Guardian of the Northern Road. And he was expecting company tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello!**

**Thanks again to anyone who is continuing to read this! I appreciate it very much.**

**Just a small note I have set up this "world" to use the familiar zones ("Ice cap Zone", "Green Hill Zone" etc...) as the kingdom of Mobius as ruled by the Acorn family. (from what I understood of the Sat AM shows) Centropolis, and other -opolis cities are in Mobius but it is not necessarily the only country in this world.**

**Again, thanks for reading and if you would be so kind as to make a review, comment or message I would be happy to hear it.**

**-Gate Keeper**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Of Snow, Robots, and Uncomfortable Boots**

_Ice Cap Zone: 1 hour after the crash-landing of the Egg Pod_

Eggman woke up surrounded in darkness, which surprised him more than it should have. Except for the fact that the lights in the Egg Pod were not meant to go out.

Ever.

Like in any scenario, the lights should always be on.

So knowing that he was indeed inside of the Egg Pod, darkness was the last thing he thought would happen inside of it. Along with coldness, which was also turning his legs into goose-flesh.

He shivered involuntarily, and tried to remember what happened in the last couple of days to land him (literally) in this situation. There was yelling at Cubot and Orbot, plenty of weapon development and then...

Oh. Right.

The Hedgehog came by.

And was captured. Then escaped, per unlucky genius doctor.

**_"I want to know if you meant it_."**

Sonic's final words to him ringed in his ears

"Of course I meant it! I want that pest out of the way."

**_"Meant it."_**

Silence reverberated as the Doctor wrangled with his thoughts

_"Did I really mean it?"_

"I did mean it...right?"

Eggman pushed the question aside for now, wanting to know where he was and how to get back to one of his bases. He found the door, and with a supreme effort on his part, opened it. And met with a solid wall of bone chilling wind.

Slamming the door shut, Eggman rubbed his suddenly cold hands together. _This is bad_ Eggman thought _I hope i'm not in the mountains, I don't have the tools or robots to deal with the Egg Pod if its this cold._ Finding an emergency thermal blanket, the doctor draped it over himself and settled in for a quick power nap. _ I need to be at my best for facing that rodent again. Just a quick nap is all I'll need_.

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_10 minutes north of the Egg Pod_

He. Hated. Boots.

Why anyone had the greatest idea to say "Hey! Lets stuff our feet into these cloth tombs so that we can walk places without having to worry about our feet complaining!" was beyond him. He could feel his feet chafing against the large, leather bound steel-capped prison cells and would have liked nothing better to do than to chuck those instruments of torture over the nearest cliff and back to the cobblers store from whence they came.

_Lets get boots _They said _It will help us be more effective on the mountainsides. _They said.

Phooey. Phooey on them and their expensive coffins of felt and their too-starched uniforms and their...

_Whoa. __That's a big escape pod. Kinda looks like an egg. Hmm._ A massive green camo finger-less glove came up and scratched the underside of a tan corduroy flat cap. He started ambling down the mountain, slowly but surely making his way towards the steel gray container.

_Hope they're not dead. That's gonna be one heck of a mess. Maybe I can use the metal to fix up Tracer? _Noticing the cracks in the hull, he started moving faster. _Uh oh_ he thought, _Please don't be blue. I'll never get you to the station in time if you're blue._

A firm grip and a sharp yank on a door-ish portal later, the wonders of the pod were laid open to the winter air. A rotund figure clad in red and black lay sleeping on the remains of a very comfy looking chair, along with enough nuts and bolts to let a robotic squirrel live several lifetimes.

A sigh of relief was heard, and quickly the red man was balled up in several woolen blankets. Starting back against the wind, He steamrolled right back up the same trail he left, making for a cabin higher up in the distance. _I don't get paid enough for this._ He thought. _Wait? I don't even get paid! What does getting paid mean anyway? Stupid radio talk-shows and their fancy quotes, and their snazzy machines and their too tight..  
_

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_A cabin on the side of a mountain pass. 20 minutes north from the Egg Pod._

Warmth. Comfortable, soothing warmth.  
It felt amazing. Eggman stirred from his slumber to find himself swathed in a garish variety of woolen blankets. _How did I get so many blankets? I don't think I ever had this many... or any in this color._

_Wait a minute... This isn't the Egg Pod!_ Eggman jolted upward, shocked by his revelation. He was in a cabin of some sort made from oak with wooden floors, walls, and ceiling. He was currently sitting on a bed tucked in a corner, in what appeared to be a combined common room and infirmary. Several metal rollers with syringes, tools and bandages were lined up by the foot of the bed, along with some adjustable crutches and first aid kits piled alongside. A large woven rug was off to the right with several couches and chairs scattered around it.

"Oh, you're awake. Good." A deep voice rumbled

Eggman whipped his head towards the noise. Diagonal to the bed a large figure sat in a wooden rocking chair. It was tall and wide, taller than any man the doctor had ever encountered (which was few, so it wasn't the best example) and wore light tan cargo pants and a ripped white T-shirt, tufts of brown fur sticking out of the slashes. Large paws were holding a pair of needles with a ball of yarn feeding it loosely from the floor.

Doctor Ivo Robotnik was looking at a bear.

And it was knitting.

To be frank, this was a first experience on both accounts for the doctor, and so his next words were not very inspiring.

"You're a bear"

"Indeed" It said

"And you're a Mobian"

"No. The Mobians are not so far up here, I may work for them but they are not my people."

"And you're knitting."

" A hobby of mine I learned from some very grateful Mobian grandmothers."

The sound of needles clicking accompanied Eggman's processing of these facts.

"Why?" Eggman asked.

"Why what? My knitting?" the bear replied

"No, why did you save me? You Mobians hate me!"

"Hate you? I'm sorry but it's hard to hate a man I just met."

"Yes you do! You all hate me with a passion and its because of that stupid Hedgehog and I-!" Eggman was interrupted by the bear.

"Slow down. You need to rest. Here, take some sleeping medicine." The bear stood up and handed the doctor a small shot glass full of liquid.

Eggman took it gratefully, gulping it down before handing the glass back and asked "What is your name?"

The bear chuckled. "You couldn't say my name. People here call me Stone."

"My name is Ivo. If you learn of me, Stone, please don't leave. I need your help."

"That is what everyone here wants Ivo, and that is what I will give you. Sleep now. Nothing bad ever comes of resting."

And with those words, Doctor Ivo Robotnik drifts off into sleep once more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello Again!**

**I do apologize, I have had this idea to write about and have had the time to do it and didn't. That is probably the one reason I will apologize, as it is difficult on you wonderful readers if I don't keep a commitment to continue a story.**

**Any-hoo, just a few notes; I've always assumed that there were countries outside of the Acorn Kingdom (SatAM universe, fyi) and thus**

**promoted this idea of it being surrounded by various neighbors who were distinctly different in species and ideals but used Mobius as a**

**"common ground" hence Stones' knitting from older Mobians. (they will be featured here)**

**Also, any and all info on characters is taken from the Sonic Wiki site and may have been modified to fit this purpose.**

**And as always, I own nothing except my ideas and my OC.**

**Thanks!**

**Gate Keeper**

* * *

**Chapter 3: A Bear Cooks Breakfast While Eggman's Fate is Decided**

_The next day..._

Stone looked through the window in the kitchen, absently washing some dishes from his meager breakfast. He gotten up early, before dawn, which while unusual was not always regretted. Ivo still slept, the bulge of his large body creating a comical up and down motion with each breath he took.

Stone felt his gaze follow the stone pathway going past the cabin, the dim morning light causing a faint haze until he saw three hooded figures in the distance. After lingering on them for a few moments, he smiled and got out some ingredients; some eggs, flour, and a small bottle of vanilla among others. _Today is going to be an interesting day with those three here. I hope they take kindly to Ivo, poor man looks like he's been chased by ghosts for some time now._

With that, the bear prepares his most famous breakfast food ever, waiting for those three to come in.

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_Down the road from the cabin, about a 10 minute walk_

"We should do him in right on the spot. He's proven he is too much of a hazard." a voice growled from amongst the three travelers.

"Come now, just because he almost killed us then doesn't mean he'll do it again; we should give him a chance" a second chided the first.

The first replied sharply "Yes he almost killed us... and would gladly regain his control if he could! Such men are too corrupt to return! Look at my grandson! He has been fighting this monster for years now, how do you expect him to change on a dime?"

A third voice spoke up "Hush. Yes the man was cruel, but we all change. Let us examine him, and see where his thoughts lie."

"After breakfast? I do so love Pebbles vittles! I wonder if he added vanilla like we asked?"

"He probably has, he's such a good young man!"

"For once I agree with you both. Let's hurry, he has probably seen us already and we shouldn't keep him waiting."

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_At the cabin_

The doctor was sleeping peacefully until a voice called from down the hallway.

"Ivo!" Stone called "Wake up! You will miss breakfast and there are guests!"

Instantly Ivo bolted upright. _Guests?_ he thought _What kind of rescue cabin is this?_ Still somewhat sleepy the Doctor slowly put on his gloves and boots, thankful that the suit had not been touched. _My secret isn't out yet. Good. Now if I can just leave this place and get to my winter base... _He stopped tying his boot, frozen by a new thought.

_What if I **DON'T WANT** to go back to a base? _Ivo shook his head to try and clear his thoughts.

Now, this thought wasn't exactly new to Eggman. After many a long string of defeats, his mind would start to roam towards a different life; one where he could still build and show his genius without causing mayhem at every point. Fact was, he had already made a new identity. One that was both natural and completely opposite to him in order to create the funding he needed after resigning from ruling Mobius many years ago. He had tried it too, always enjoying the happiness that he brought to others, but there was always a drive to make the Egg Empire a reality, or to control the world, and especially the desire to make Eggman Land a real place.

But now, something was different.

Something was... off, to say the least.

Always this temptation to change would last a week, a few at most, with him growing more agitated each day. Normally he would just consider this a small break from his domineering ways, something to relieve himself and bolster his confidence for the next round of battle.

But now... this drive was gone. No burning hunger for power filled him. No greed or want to make him return to his ways. He now felt so very, very insecure about what he, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, wanted for **himself**.

He thought back to his last words to Sonic and his friends: _"__"You will never be remembered. You will die here and now and I will make it so that you were never born. No one will whisper your name. Your parents will have never known you by the time I'm done. Pray now, if you wish, my only regret being that I can't make your deities forget you as well. Goodbye." _and he shivered at the menace that his mind had reconstructed for him.

Ivo pondered his words. _Egad, I sound just like I was when I ruled Mobius! I can't go down this path any longer, or I will turn back into that hideous monster again! I promised you Snively!_

Eggman felt a tear roll down his cheek as his mustache quavered.

_Oh, Snively! Why did you love your monster of an uncle? I treated you like dirt and yet you stood by me! Now you are gone and I..._

_I can no longer hear you, my poor, poor nephew._

And the doctor stayed there; sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, wishing and crying for the only kind voice he ever heard to comfort him.

And it was the only voice which could never speak again.

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_In the kitchen_

One knock was heard, a low knock resonating from the bottom part of a heavy wooden door leading to the outside.

Another came soon after, this time coming from the middle of the door.

A third followed on the heels of the second, coming from the top of the door, a light and airy ending

after a second, a single knock was heard, three times the volume of the first set and with the same tones as all three at once.

Stone rushed over to the door, pulling it open to reveal three hooded figures. Each kept their head down as they shuffled inside and Stone greeted them kindly. "Oma's" he said "What brings you here to my humble home today?"

A voice replied warmly "We saw the smoke rising from the mountain, and we wanted to check on our little Pebble to make sure he wasn't hurt!" The two other hoods nodded and Stone sighed softly, knowing that no other answer would come from the travelers.

"Very well." Stone said. "Please seat yourselves Oma's, I will have some pancakes ready soon." With that he walked back down the hallway toward the kitchen, but quickly yelled to Eggman to hurry up for breakfast before turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

The three travelers hung up their cloaks and seated themselves, when not two seconds later Eggman appeared in his red outfit. Eggman was surprised to see three elderly looking Mobians sitting at a heavy wooden table, each facing him much like a court judge sits before a convict for trial.

Sitting down was a female hedgehog, with a light grey-blue tint to her quills which were slowly rising as she appeared to become more angry. Across from her was a elderly fox, also graying with age but appeared to retain more of her brown fur coat than the hedgehog did of her quills was smiling softly at Eggman. The third, a cat with a light shade of purple in her fur, was situated in between the two extremes and was looking coldly into his eyes.

Eggman gulped. He was pretty sure that these three weren't here for just breakfast.

The cat spoke first "Greetings, Eggman."

The fox chimed in "Welcome, Mr. Robotnik."

The hedgehog growled "Slave master."

The cat and fox glared. The hedgehog shrugged "It's true."

Clearing her throat, the cat spoke "Anyway, my name is Felicia. These are my two cohorts, Beatrice and Jeannine." nodding to the hedgehog and the fox respectively.

Beatrice scowled "We saw your craft crash, and wanted to see where you really stand. Whether we should let you live, or have you pay for the suffering you caused now." She waved her hand in a care-free gesture "Jeannine and I can't really take you on. Much too old and no powers to boot and all that. She" she pointed to Felicia " Could kill you in a flash without having to break a sweat. Since she is the one with the clearest head here, Felicia makes all the decisions here while Jeanine acts as the conscience and I" she grinned "act as the devil's advocate."

Jeanine smiled and said "We don't wish to scare you right now, but it would really be helpful if you could just not try and escape. That'd be great."

Eggman got the feeling that he would rather spend an entire day with Beatrice than see Jeanine get angry at him.

Stone popped his head in suddenly. "I apologize, the batter is not working well. Be another couple of minutes. Ivo; if you could entertain our guests, that would be delightful." and suddenly left again.

An awkward pause permeated the room, the three unsure of where to continue with their investigation and Eggman wondering how in the world they knew who he was.

Growing uncomfortable with the silence, Eggman spoke up. "N-now see here! What could I have possibly done to make you hate me as such? You couldn't possibly have been in Mobotropolis when I domineered it!

Felicia replied "but you have affected us any way. Because of your choices, we now bear a burden we other-wise would not.

Eggman shot back "And what would those be?"

Beatrice stood up. "You are the bane of my grandson's existence!" Jeanine joined in "You caused mine to be an orphan!"

They all turned to Felicia, who still sat quietly, "You have purposefully messed with the space-time continuum, causing different realities to combine with the present, and never realized just how many times you have almost come to destroying this planet. And let me meet my grand-daughter one universe removed, for which I am grateful."

Again, awkwardness enveloped the table as Eggman, Beatrice and Jeanine stared as Felecia sipped water from a glass.

Eggman coughed and said, "Alright... so I've done you wrong, but why have you decided to try and be my judge, jury and executioner? From what I've seen your just three old Mobians whose grand-sires are...

...my..." Eggman"s eyes went wide

"...worst..." His hands went cold

"...enemies..." he trailed off, the clues finally coming together

"Oh dear" he whimpered, shrinking into his chair more and more as he realized that before him stood/sat

The grandmothers of Sonic, Tails and Blaze.

Beatrice smiled and sat down, with Jeanine following, and said "There we go. Got it all figured out now, don't we? Go on, finish what you were about to say. I'm sure we'll find it amusing."

Eggman stuttered "I-I'm n-not sure w-what your talking about. I-it all seems t-to have s-slipped my mind."

Jeanine smiled as well "Good lad. See? I told you it wouldn't be hard to make him realize the implications."

Felicia waved her hand, "Anyway, back to the question. Eggman, what do you plan on doing after leaving Stone's company?"

Eggman sighed, covering his face with his gloved hands. "I don't know. There is no more drive for me to compete with Sonic, or at least right now. He rattled me the last time we met, and I can't move on unless i can figure out what he said."

Beatrice focused on Eggman, her eyes narrowing at him. "What did Sonic say? From all that he has told me you aren't the kind to be easily derailed by words alone." Felicia and Jeanine nodded.

Eggman sighed again, burrowing into his hands before summoning up his courage to tell the story of the last few days.

The three listened attentively to Eggman's story, waiting for him to finish.

When he did, his head still buried in his hands, a silence again fell over the room.

Eggman felt smaller hand grasp his, and gently pull it away from his face. Jeanine looked at him worriedly, unsure of how to continue. Beatrice scowled softly, anger and sadness conflicting in her eyes as she battled her own self on the action to take. Felicia stared at Eggman, her gaze unmoved by his tale.

"So?" Felicia said

Eggman cocked his head confusedly "So what?"

"Did you mean what you said about erasing them?" she stated

"**NO! **Yes! Arrgh! I don't know! I wanted to then, for sure but now... no, I can never do that again."

"**Again!?**" Beatrice exclaimed. "You did this **BEFORE****! **Who did you try kill that time!? Who did you take you insane blood sucking mon-"

"**MY NEPHEW! I KILLED MY NEPHEW!"** Eggman howled.

"What?" the three said at once

Eggman was starting to sob "I-I was ruler of Mobius and my nephew Snively had been cooperating with the Freedom Fighters to take me down. H-he was trying to bring back the peace we had had before on Mobius. The one that I destroyed, mind you, and he was trying so hard to convince them to not kill me after what I had done. I walked into the comms room as he was using it, and I saw Sonic on the screen getting mad about not getting to a decision yet and I... I strolled right behind my nephew and hit him across the room. I started screaming at him about betraying me and kept hitting him. H-he looked so scared! He kept pleading for me to calm down and... and I ignored him. I hit him so many times my knuckles were almost to the bone as well. Then I-I put him in the roboticizer and I put him under a full transformation. He stepped out and I set him in front of the screen. I was so insane that I didn't even realize that the monitor was still on. I opened up a monitor to every screen in the city, even sending out more to the areas approximate to the Freedom Fighter bases. And I made some speech about disloyalty and the price it had for traitors and then I...

...I made him disassemble himself. He kept tearing off limbs and praising me, as was the programming, and when he got to his head he paused and asked if I wished to continue. I screamed 'YES!' and then as he was about to cut the final wire I came to my senses to try and stop him, but I was too late. H-he smiled and said "I love you, Uncle. May you find your real path one day." before he pulled the final cord. I broke down completely. I was weeping openly when I looked at the screens and I saw faces. Hundreds of faces, completely silent. Tears were coming down on most of them. Sonic was still on the line and he had a solemn gaze on me. I remember him saying before I shut down the monitors "We are going to honor the death of a hero. I hope you can still respect that."

I sat in that room for over a week. No attacks were being reported and I gave no new orders of finding Sonic. One day, Sir Charles the Hedgehog, my first victim of robotization walked in to receive new orders and I told him to change everybody back to their flesh selves before destroying the machine forever."

"I left that same day and within a week the process was done and Mobius was back like nothing ever happened."

The three were silent.

Eggman continued "Th-they put up a rather nice statue of him in Station Square. I go and visit every year. Just to remind myself of what a monster I was. And yes I can actually go into Mobotropolis. I have a different identity and everything. They rebuilt it rather nicely, if I say so myself. They actually have a statue of the old me there too. To remind them of the price of freedom and regaining it if they lose it. I-I visit that one too. Not as often, its too personal for me to be there. There is a list of names about the people I robotized there too. Talk about a literal monument to my sins"

Silence remained and Eggman sighed "So, what now? Are you going to kill me? Throw me in prison? I deserve it, I know it."

Jeanine stood up and slowly walked to where Eggman was. Beatrice soon joined her. Felecia was last, standing directly before him.

She spoke "Eggman; on behalf of all those who were victimized by your actions we find you guilty. Your punishment is..."

Eggman tensed, trying to fight his guilt and shame in order to try and find a way out of the judgement.

"...forced integration with mass society."

Eggman shot up and looked directly at Felecia. "What do you mean? Weren't you here to try and kill me? Wasn't that the whole point of you coming here?"

Jeanine shushed him and patted his back "No, Eggman, we came here to see if you were still a monster. What we found was a broken man."

Beatrice brushed a tear away and growled softly "And while we cannot kill you we can contain you. You said you had a different identity, and thus we know you like and are capable of being part of society at large."

Felecia nodded "You now must cast away this monster of yours and try to live normally. We cannot help you with these burdens you carry, that is the consequence of life, but we can make sure you do not add onto your sorrow by participating as Doctor Eggman."

Jeanine spoke again "So we are forcing you to face the guilt of your past mistakes and finally have some peace."

Beatrice stooped down and looked Eggman in the eye "We are doing this for the good of everybody. Revenge is sweet but it does not solve the problems created in the first place. And whether you know it or not you are a s**omebody **and you need as much help as the next guy."

Felecia extended a hand "So, Doctor. Will you finally choose to do good? Maybe you can finally have your answers about Snively and Sonic.

Eggman looked up, and slowly he put his hand in hers and shook it.

Stone walked through the door with a large pile of pancakes "Whew, that took much too long. So what did I miss?"

Laughter rang around the room until Jeanine said "Oh, Pebble. More than you could possibly imagine."


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright!**

**First off I would like to thank you all who have read this far. Especially you, Christian Ape99.**

**So, to thank you for your posts, I would like to address your questions.**

**First, W.I.P is an acronym for Work In Progress, as in the story is still being developed while producing chapters. I use it for describing new ideas/stories (such as this one, my first) or ones that I will (hopefully) continue work on.**

**Second, I named my OC Stone because he was supposed to be like one: Somewhat rough on the outside, but could contain valuable gems (qualities) within and could be either hot (nice, such as how the Grannies of Doom call him Pebble) or cold (Eggman's reaction to a anthropomorphic character who didn't hate him on sight in Chapter 2) depending on the person and previous experiences.**

**I'm still working on the whole character-development thing, so if he is lopsided I apologize. He's a guinea pig; A big, brown kindhearted but somewhat slow guinea pig. **

**Third, Well I meant for Stone to be the Guardian. He is the ranger at the base camp and provides relief for and protects any who try to cross the road (leading north). Really it seemed like a good title at the time but I must have missed the mark with how I tried to portray Stone.**

**And while I would love to say that I could handle putting other OC's in a story, I don't have a lot of experience with characters. Or writing in general. If you want me to, I could put them in a spin-off story featuring Stone or some others if you could give me details on your characters and potential ideas.**

**And about your comment one Eggman meeting Sonic?**

**...That's another story, my friend :)**

**Which brings me to my next point: This chapter will be ending the Northern Guardian line. I meant this as a spring-board for different stories, so that there would be some common knowledge before I pulled any real big hammer space chaos on y'all. I would like to think I have started something good here, and hope to continue using Stone, Beatrice, Felecia and Jeanine (Or the Grannies of Doom, as that would be an apt name for the trio) more in other stories.**

**Please P.M. me with questions so that I could (read: try to) answer you directly, but your comments and reviews are always worthy of reading.**

**P.S. I may have come on a little strong at the beginning, I don't mind doing romantic stories (though not for a while, as that is a whole different ball game) but just on principle I want to avoid same-gender pairings. I can't write normal romance; I would probably be even worse at slash writing. Not to mention that just isn't my style.**

**Also, there will be a new OC, just as a transition but if youz guyz like the character, i'll see about another story featuring that character.**

**Anyhoo I hope you enjoy this last chapter and let me know what you think.**

**Sincerely,**

**Gate Keeper**

* * *

_At the cabin, later that same day_

Stone was completely shocked.

Apparently, while he was battling the fiercest food foe he face yet, several things were uncovered

His Omas were three powerful ladies who were related to some sort of Mobian superhero (Not that he cared)

Ivo was both the nemesis and instigator of said heroes due to his want to create "Eggman Land" as he called it

He was unaware that during the course of his (still somewhat brief) life there have been encounters with the past and future, alternate dimensions and even parallel universes due to some type of super reactors called Chaos Emeralds

And that the sudden and unexpected visit of the three ladies who had taught him so much was only to make sure of Ivos' intentions upon leaving Stones' care.

Both Ivo and Stone were sitting down at the table where not hours before his Omas (having left in a rather hurried way after breakfast, not even checking on Stone's new quilts) and Ivo revealed what had happened before and who they really were.

Stone narrowed his eyes at Ivo

"So..." Stone growled

Ivo gulped. He had just faced the most terrifying elderly members of society ever, and didn't want to turn away the only person who would have ever given him shelter in the entire world.

"Y-yes Stone?"

Stone sighed "Why didn't you entertain the Omas? Surely it couldn't have been that hard to **NOT** bring up such a serious topic before breakfast!"

Ivo went deadpanned "Really Stone? Out of all the possible things you could have questioned, from why I was terrorizing some grandmother-

"Oma" Stone interrupted

Ivo face palmed "Right, yes, why i was terrorizing some Omas grand sire, to how I came to be in the mountain anyway, you chose why I couldn't be civil when they were the ones who started this whole thing?"

Stone nodded "Yes, it is very important in my home to always treat your guests well. 'Strangers could be beggars or kings, but they will always be your friend if you open up to them' that's what my mother taught all of us. A great woman, may she always find full rivers and fat fish."

Ivo stared confusedly at Stone "What do you mean? I thought all Mobians were vegetarians."

Stone sighed again "You and your Mobians! I am not one of them, nor is my kin, and our culture prescribes fish and other meat in order to build us up strong."

He continued "Anyway, this is getting away from my original question. Ivo..."

Ivo straightened up, heart beating somewhat faster than before

"...I believe it is time you left my care. You were more inflicted with cold than any real wounds, and from what I have learned you seem to need to face your reality, no? Such things will stop you from achieving what you want right now, or rather what your nephew wanted, isn't it?"

Ivo cringed at the word "nephew". That wound was still a bit too tender to fix yet.

Stone continued."Tell me, Ivo, do you know about the Guardians?"

Ivo shook his head, "I didn't set up that administration, so I don't really know."

Stone smiled "Good. I wish to tell you so that you can understand better why I exist, or rather, why I am here at the point you came upon this mountain. The Guardians were set up as a confidential border and secret medical patrol for Mobius. Under His Majesty King Acorn, we were sent to the most chaotic, dangerous and perilous routes into Mobius to aid and protect those who came across our way. We would heal these travelers, both heart and soul, before they left our care so that they would be able to face their new adventures without burdens by their old mistakes or by the actions of others long past. Before you I have aided a rape victim, a murderer seeking salvation, several suicidal members of various societies, along with more drug and alcohol addicts than I can remember, and a hedgehog with a bit of an identity crisis." He chuckled "That was an interesting one. Tried to kill me half of the time and play around the cabin for the other half. She lives down on the other side of the mountain in a small vacation village."

He cleared his throat. "What this means for you, Ivo, is that it is my duty to help you confront these fears and struggles of yours until you are whole again. But from what I have heard from both you and the Omas is that these things are beyond my skill. Some tests must be faced alone, and you have one a mile long. So I will be retiring, as is the tradition with every Guardian when they find their own impossible case. Someone will take my place up here, and I will be able to move on. Maybe even try living in Mobius, I have earned a small rest as it is, might as well go to the most peaceful place around."

Stone pointed his finger at Ivo, the huge paw attached to it creating a small shield in the middle of the table. "So to you, my friend, I am going to ask you this. Where are you going, and what will you do to face these problems of your soul?"

Ivo unsure of how to answer. _Should I try and go back to world domination? Eggman Land will never appear if I give up now!_ he thought, and then shook his head _No, I am done. No more of these battles with Sonic. No more hiding. No more anger from losing. I will be free! I will be accepted, even if it takes a life time, from those I have made suffer. I will do it for Snively, better yet for my conscious, and I could finally leave this world with something better to atone for my sins. Maybe I could finally enjoy a quiet life, with that antagonizing fire leaving my mind for good. _

Ivo breathed in deeply "I will go to Mobius. It is what I know best, and I already have a identity there to settle into." Stone nodded and Ivo continued "I-I am not sure how to go about this 'fixing' you talk about, but maybe by interacting with the Mobians more I can try and help them to clear my conscious a little before taking a big step like facing Sonic."

Stone nodded again and smiled "You plan well, Ivo, it does not surprise me that you could have ruled a nation with that kind of thinking. Tell me more about your identity you were talking about. I would like to know who you will become once you leave me."

Ivo smiled, and started to get up from the chair, "Wait for me, I'll show you in a minute."

Stone laughed "I've all day to wait. Take your time"

Ivo walked out of the dining area and into the small bathroom down the hall. About 10 minutes later, a man stepped out of the bathroom.

He was slender, and somewhat tall, with a dark suit outfit and red tie to make the him look like a professional business man. His mustache was smaller and well groomed, like someone had taken a very fuzzy comb and put it over his top lip. the most striking difference, came to his face. No goggles remained, and instead a pair of round, blue tinted glasses partially covered two sapphire blue eyes. His nose even seemed to have gotten smaller, going from almost comical to somewhat obtuse.

Stone did a double-take. "Who are you and what have you done with Ivo?" Ivo laughed. "It's good isn't it? I was wearing a specially made suit that contains a gel that is impact resistant, fire retardant and acts as a stimulus to my natural body so I can run, think and fight better than normally. Unfortunately I look like a large ball of lard, but that is a good way to create a disguise. And I created a small force field generator for my head area, that happens to make my nose look more like a hook than anything else."

Both Stone and Ivo laughed for a while, before Stone gestured for Ivo to continue.

"I'm also the founder of a large technology company called Eggscellent Thinkers Inc. This is how I built up enough currency to fund my ever depleting armies of robots from attacking Sonic and his friends."

Stone pondered on this. "Alright, this is good. But what is your name? I would like to be able to contact you if you want help."

"My name is Julian Kintobor. It is my actual first name and my mother's maiden name, and that data had been destroyed as soon as I took power so it's as safe a name as any could be. I'll have to give you my address, I don't normally go into the offices of the company unless some very important questions have come up and I don't like to keep a phone on me. G.U.N. would have no qualms with tracking me down if I did." As he spoke Ivo wrote and gave Stone a slip of paper

Stone nodded, taking the paper, and got up. Ivo rose as well, and the two clasped each others hands while locking gazes.

Stone spoke. "Ivo, it was good meeting you. I wish that I could help you more, but there is something as too much. I don't know when I'll be able to visit, the Guardians have notoriously busy periods of training so I might get a replacement next week or next year!" He chuckled "Anyway, I'll be sticking around but the first thing I will do when I get off is come visit you."

Ivo nodded. "Well, I'm not sure what I'll do just yet. This has been very overwhelming for me. I think it would be best if I went to visit Snively, to tell him about my new plan."

Stone patted Ivo on the shoulder, causing Ivo to jerk up and down, before guiding him towards the door. "Well" Stone said "Better not waste time. You need to start heading out now before it gets too late to get to Mobotropolis before nightfall."

Ivo turned his head towards Stone. "How long is the journey?"

"Six hours by foot." Stone replied

Ivo stared at Stone. "Isn't there a... faster way down the mountain?"

"Well, yes."

"...What?"

"You could always roll down it."

Ivo looked at him deadpanned

"Stone... You don't use cars, do you?"

"No. There too small and besides, why would I want to be stuck with a machine that could easily breakdown in the middle of winter?"

"Fair point, but there must be some vehicle traffic right? Why not just wait for them?"

"Oh. Well, I guess you could wait. Hmm, I don't know why I thought about that."

"About what?"

"Well, I had this idea of you waving goodbye while walking towards the sun-set, with some trumpet player in the distance while you vanished into the horizon."

"Stone, these kinds of things don't happen in real life. Have you been watching westerns recently?"

"What are those?"

"...Never mind. So, when is the next traffic supposed to be here? Mail person? Milk deliveries? Scouts?"

A distant buzz was heard through the cabin, steadily growing louder. Stone groaned and put a paw to his face, rubbing slowly. Stone sighed "You're in luck, you have a ride coming right now."

Ivo was disturbed by Stones reaction. "Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?"

"It's not bad..." Stone replied "It's just that the rider is... well... you remember when I was telling you about the people I helped as a Guardian?"

"Yes"

"This is the hedgehog."

"Oh. How worried should I be?"

"You don't have to be. She's just fine, a little eccentric maybe, but perfectly sane."

They both paused. The buzzing had grown from a faint noise to a reasonable drone, and was gaining volume with every second. Ivo started talking.

"Does she still have that literal 'love/hate relationship' crush thing going on with you?"

"No. Have you ever seen an overly romantic girl who does and doesn't seem to know what she wants?"

"Partly; Sonic has a girlfriend/fan girl who is overly attached. Name's Amy; nice girl, fierce as a tiger and about as dangerous, but nice. I don't think Sonic is uninterested in her, however, just put off."

"Ah, well only time will tell, no? Anyway, she still doesn't know what she wants in a man, so she pines for big old me since I was who saved her."

"Old, Stone you can't be serious!"

"I'm old enough to be a father to the child, Ivo."

"Oh. That's a little awkward."

"Very. Anyway, here she comes now. Ivo, may I present..."

The sound of a throttle being gunned came from a crest farther up the mountain. The sun was blocked out temporarily by an outline of a car as it jumped the hill top, and then bounced down hard before executing a perfect power slide stop in front of the pair, causing dust to blow down the mountain road. A helmeted driver got out of the car, and slowly took off the helmet in a sweeping style. An ash-grey fur covered face beamed up at the two, before the figure ran towards them yelling "BOULDER!". The figure jumped up and somersaulted onto the bears' right shoulder, before hooking her arms around his neck and swinging a few times around to finally come to rest hanging on his back. Stone sighed before gesturing to the hedgehog latched onto him, saying.

"... Miss Adeline of the House of Ash. Adeline, this is my friend Ivo. Say hello please."

Adeline nuzzled herself deeper into Stone's fur, peeking out from behind him before softly saying "Hi Mr. Ivo."

Ivo smiled "Hello Adeline, it is good to meet you.". She giggled softly, but soon started to whine as Stone gently pulled her off of him and placed her down on the ground. She was a petite little thing, smaller than the Mobians Ivo had seen, and had a complete coat of grey fur, with tips of white at the edge of her quills. She had somewhat short hair quills, curling down and around her face to make a cocoon like visage. She wore a red racer uniform, and had black gloves to cover hands.

Stone patted her head affectionately. "Adeline, have you found yourself a good man yet? I won't wait forever to see you fully move on in your life." Adeline blushed furiously, and Ivo sputtered.

"S-Stone! Don't you think she's a bit young? How old are you anyway Adeline?"

"I'm sixteen. And don't mind Boulder, he's just a little weird that way."

Ivo stared at Stone, who shrugged. "I do not keep up with the customs around here. It is natural for children to start to look around for mates at this time, at least in my country. No matter, Miss Adeline?" She nodded, looking up at Boulder with large eyes. "Would you mind taking Mr. Ivo on your trip to Mobotropolis? He had gotten lost and wound up at my cottage, and has no other way home."

Adeline looked over Ivo with a critical yet still apprehensive eye. She chewed on her lip, and nodded. "Sure, I can do that. Hope you don't mind a bumpy road though." She grinned at him. Stone smiled "Good, good. Thank you very much. You two best be on your way now, I don't want to think of you driving home too late, you know what I think of cars anyway."

Adeline pouted "But I wanna spend some time with youuuu..." she whined. Stone looked at her unmoved, and she sighed "Fine, let me get something for you first!" she ran back to her car and pulled out a small brown bag. She gave it sheepishly to Stone, blushing lightly "I made them for you, to ah, well, um..."

Stone chuckled "To thank me for helping you out and by being such a nice person even though you don't deserve it?" She flushed bright red and Stone continued "Please Adeline, you have already repaid me a thousand times over. I want you to be happy, and that is why I helped. Do not give laurels to those already smothered in them, no? Thank you for the present, I believe they will be delicious. Now go! Time is waning, and Ivo here has some very important meetings coming soon, correct?" Stone swung his head around to face Ivo, who nodded quickly.

Adeline motioned for Ivo to follow. "Come on, let's go before Boulder blows a gasket." They got into the car and waved to Stone as they started going down the path.

Both remained silent, thinking about today and the possibilities in the future.

The Guardian watched as his charges left him, and went inside to resign his position

All were preparing for the challenges of the morrow.


End file.
